Ottawa 67's goalie Cédrick Andrée and Hudson Wilson track the puck as a Barrie Colt threatens during a 2-0 win for the 67's at TD Place arena on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019. Valerie Wutti / OSEG

67’s 2, Colts 0

It wasn’t necessarily pretty, not in terms of highlight-reel goals and back-and-forth offensive fireworks.

But Saturday’s 2-0 Ontario Hockey League win over the Barrie Colts was nonetheless important for the Ottawa 67’s, whose defensively stifling system stymied the Colts time and time again. Plus, there was the play of 67’s goalie Cédrick Andrée, who made 17 saves in ringing up the shutout. The 67’s top goalie — Michael DiPietro — will return to the team in the next few days, coming off Team Canada’s disappointing finish at the world junior hockey championship.

“Cedy was awesome, he played lights out — it obviously showed with the score,” said defenceman Noel Hoefenmayer, who scored Ottawa’s first goal of the game. “They had some good chances, he really shut the door for us back there.”

In their first game of the new year, the 67’s had their share of chances, with 31 shots on goal. But the game was still very much up in the air until Tye Felhaber nudged the puck into the net with 14.8 seconds left when he found himself alone and Barrie’s goaltender removed for an extra attacker. It was Felhaber’s 43rd goal of the season in his 39th game.

Big for Ottawa was the return of sparkplug Marco Rossi, who missed seven weeks with a sprained elbow.

“Having a few guys back in the lineup is a good thing for us,” said 67’s coach André Tourigny. “Now we have to get chemistry back on every line and find the right combos. We played really solid defensively without the puck. Offensively, we need to get a little better — more cohesion, more support, being a little bit more level. But in general, you can’t complain when you only give up 17 shots.”

“It was definitely a good game,” said Andrée. “I didn’t get too much action; that was probably the hardest part, just staying focused until they got a good chance. The guys played really well and made my game easier.”

“It was a tight one and those are important for us,” said Hoefenmayer. “We need to learn to win every way possible. It’s good for us, learn how to win close games, close them out late.”

The Ottawa 67’s Marco Rossi made his return to the lineup in a 2-0 win over the Barrie Colts on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019 at TD Place arena.Valerie Wutti /
OSEG

Andrée said the defence is a key to his team’s success.

“Our defencemen are great,” he said. “Last year, we were a little young, but this year we have probably one of the older and better D corps. Our D corps, I think, is the best, or at least one of the best, in the league.”

The 67’s offence picked up when Rossi was reunited with linemates Austen Keating and Felhaber mid-game. It’s obvious they work well together.

“They were excited to be back together,” said Tourigny. “They like to play with each other, they have good chemistry. Marco had been out for a long, long time and I wanted to give him a chance to get his legs under himself. I knew it would come during the game, but I didn’t want to start him on that line.”

The Ottawa 67’s Graeme Clarke battles in front of the net during a 2-0 win over the Barrie Colts on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019 at TD Place arena.Valerie Wutti /
OSEG

The 67’s hold down top spot in the Eastern Conference’s East Division with 60 points, with a huge edge on the second-place Peterborough Petes. It’s now up to the 67’s to keep that momentum going into the playoffs.

“It’s definitely nice what’s happened already this season,” said Hoefenmayer. “But a big mentality with our team is we’re not looking to the past, we’re focused on what’s important now. We’ll continue that and we’ll have more success.”

There was no scoring in the first period, with the 67’s outshooting the visitors 11-4.

A bit more than two minutes into the second period, Felhaber backhanded a puck that trickled toward the back part of the goal line, but was knocked away by Barrie’s Dalton Duhart just in time. Other than a lengthy stretch starting with about eight minutes left in the second period, the 67’s had the better chances.

Following a roughing penalty to Barrie’s Aidan Brown (there were only five minor penalties in the game), the 67’s had some great chances of their own, but couldn’t knock the puck past goalie Kai Edmonds. Ottawa took a 1-0 lead with 3:17 left in the middle period when Hoefenmayer ripped a wrist shot into the net.

Attendance for Saturday’s game, with the Senators hosting the Minnesota Wild across town and also in the afternoon, was 3,217.

The 67’s return to action Sunday with another home game, this time versus the Oshawa Generals, at 2 p.m. The 67’s have lost twice against Oshawa this season — one in a shootout, the other in overtime — but won the last meeting 5-2 on Dec. 30 in Oshawa.

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